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Ted "Kid" Lewis (born Gershon Mendeloff) was an English professional boxer who twice won the World Welterweight Championship (147 lb). Lewis is often ranked among the all-time greats, with ESPN ranking him 41st on their list of the 50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time and boxing historian Bert Sugar placing him 46th in his Top 100 Fighters catalogue. Statistical boxing website BoxRec ranks Lewis as the 17th best welterweight of all-time and the 7th best UK boxer ever. He is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. BOXING CAREER CAREER BEGINNINGS Lewis was born as Gershon Mendeloff in a gas-lit tenement in the now demolished Umberston Street, in the Aldgate Pump section of London's East End. His father was a cabinet-maker. One of his elder brothers had become a boxer under the name of Lou Lewis. At the suggestion of a police officer – who had witnessed his performance in a street brawl – he entered the boxing ring in 1909, making his fighting debut as 'Kid' Lewis, having joined as a member of the Judaean Club, Whitechapel (the name "Ted" was added later, in America). He subsequently won the club's Flyweight title and took home a cup of imitation silver. He became a professional boxer in 1909. On 6 October 1913, Lewis won the British Featherweight Championship with a 17th-round knockout of Alec Lambert at London's National Sporting Club. A year later, on 2 February 1914, at London's Premierland (in Whitechapel), he won the European Featherweight title from the French boxer Paul Til via a 12th round foul. Still in 1914, campaigning as a lightweight and welterweight, Lewis left London and toured Australia. In 1915 Lewis travelled to the United States, fighting Phil Bloom in New York's Madison Square Garden and winning by a decision. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_"Kid"_Lewis TAGS: Ted "Kid" Lewis, World welterweight boxing champions, World boxing champions, Welterweight boxers, Boxers from Greater London, Jewish boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Featherweight boxers, European Boxing Union champions, English Jews, English male boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #Ted"Kid"Lewis

Oscar De La Hoya is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championship in three weight classes. He is ranked as the 38th best boxer of all time, pound for pound, by BoxRec. De La Hoya was nicknamed "The Golden Boy of boxing" by the media when he represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics where, shortly after having graduated from James A. Garfield High School, he won a gold medal in the lightweight division, and reportedly "set a sport back on its feet." De La Hoya was named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year in 1995, and was its top-rated fighter in the world, pound for pound, in 1997 and 1998. De La Hoya generated approximately $700 million in pay-per-view income, making him the top pay-per-view earner before being surpassed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. He announced his retirement as a fighter in 2009, following a professional career spanning 16 years. In 2002, De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm that also owns a 25% stake in the Houston Dynamo. He is the first American of Mexican descent to own a national boxing promotional firm, and one of the few boxers to take on promotional responsibilities while still active. In 2018, he began promoting MMA matches as well, beginning with a 2018 trilogy bout between long-time rivals Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, with the inaugural Golden Boy MMA event taking place on November 24, 2018. De La Hoya has held dual American and Mexican citizenship since 2002, when the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles granted him Mexican citizenship, reflecting his heritage. EARLY LIFE His parents emigrated from Mexico to the United States prior to his birth. He was born in East Los Angeles, California into a boxing family; his grandfather, Vicente, was an amateur fighter during the 1940s, and his father, Joel Sr., had been a professional boxer during the 1960s. His brother, Joel Jr., was also a boxer. De La Hoya graduated from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California in 1991. AMATEUR CAREER De La Hoya won the national Junior Olympics 119-pound title at age 15, After he lost a tournament in Whittier to Leon Hernandez from Santa Monica he won the 125-pound title the following year. His amateur career included 234 wins — 163 by knockout, and six losses. Of those six losses, two were to Shane Mosley. In 1989, he won the National Golden Gloves title in the bantamweight division. In 1990, at age 17, he won the U.S. National Championship at featherweight and was the youngest U.S. boxer at that year's Goodwill Games, winning a gold medal. The joy of victory was tempered by the news that his mother, Cecilia Gonzales De La Hoya (November 22, 1950 to October 28, 1990), was terminally ill with breast cancer. She died that October, expressing the hope that her son would one day become an Olympic gold medalist. As the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona approached, De La Hoya turned his mother's dream into a strong focus for his training. After an upset victory in the first round over the Cuban boxer Julio Gonzalez; De La Hoya defeated German boxer Marco Rudolph to win the gold medal. Rudolph had been the only fighter to defeat him in the years leading up to the fight, adding drama. The U.S. media publicized his quest to fulfill his mother's dying wish and nicknamed him "The Golden Boy", which has remained with him throughout his career. In 2000, the Cecilia Gonzalez De La Hoya Cancer Center was formally opened by De La Hoya and his siblings at the White Memorial Medical Center (WMMC), with a $350,000 donation from De La Hoya, in honor of their mother. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_De_La_Hoya TAGS: Oscar De La Hoya, Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games, Goodwill Games medalists in boxing, Sportspeople from Montebello California, Houston Dash owners, Houston Dynamo FC owners, Mixed martial arts executives, World middleweight boxing champions, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World welterweight boxing champions, World light-welterweight boxing champions, World lightweight boxing champions, World super-featherweight boxing champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing, American male boxers, Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics, World Boxing Organization champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, International Boxing Federation champions, Boxers at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Olympic boxers of the United States, Major League Soccer executives, Hispanic and Latino American sportspeople #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #OscarDeLaHoya

Wilfredo Gómez Rivera, sometimes referred to as Bazooka Gómez, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer and three-time world champion. He is frequently mentioned among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts, along with Félix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Wilfred Benítez, Esteban De Jesús, Edwin Rosario, and Carlos Ortíz. His seventeen consecutive knockouts in championship defenses as a junior featherweight is a record for all boxing divisions. He was ranked number 13 on The Ring magazine's list of the "100 greatest punchers of all time". In 1995, Gómez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. BIOGRAPHY Gómez was born in a poor area of Las Monjas of Hato Rey in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the son of Jacobo Gómez and Julia Rivera. Gómez himself reportedly used a bicycle as means of transportation when he was young, and he sold candy to earn pocket money before becoming an amateur boxer. AMATEUR CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL DEBUT Gómez won the gold medal at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba before turning professional. He also competed in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, getting eliminated by an Egyptian rival in the Olympic's first round of bouts. He compiled an overall record of 96 wins and 3 defeats as an amateur boxer. Because of his family's economic situation, he decided not to wait for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, opting to begin making money right after the 1974 World Amateur Boxing championship instead. Coming from Puerto Rico, he settled for less money and exposure from the American media, and moved to Costa Rica, where he began to tour all of Central America in hopes of finding matches. His professional debut came in Panama City, Panama, where he fought to a draw with Jacinto Fuentes. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfredo_Gómez TAGS: Wilfredo Gómez, AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists, World super-featherweight boxing champions, Puerto Rican male boxers, Puerto Rican Christians, Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent, Sportspeople from San Juan Puerto Rico, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Olympic boxers of Puerto Rico, Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics, World boxing champions, World Boxing Council champions, Converts to Christianity, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #WilfredoGómez

Salvador "Sal" Sánchez Narváez was a Mexican professional boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Sanchez was the WBC and The Ring featherweight champion from 1980 to 1982. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that had it not been for his premature death, Sánchez could have gone on to become the greatest featherweight boxer of all time. Sánchez died on August 12, 1982 in a car accident from Querétaro to San Luis Potosí. He is also the uncle of Salvador Sánchez II. In 1991, Sánchez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The Ring magazine named both him, and Sugar Ray Leonard, as Fighter of the Year in 1981. In 2002, he was named the 24th greatest fighter of the past 80 years by The Ring magazine. In 2003, The Ring rated Sánchez number 88 on the list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Sánchez was voted as the #3 featherweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press. EARLY LIFE Sánchez was born to father Felipe Sánchez and to mother María Luisa Narváez. PROFESSIONAL CAREER Sánchez started his professional career at the age of 16, as a teenager (after a brief amateur career consisting of reportedly 4 amateur bouts) he started piling up wins against tough Mexican opposition. His first fight of note came in his 19th professional fight against the Mexican bantamweight champion Antonio Becerra. Becerra proved too experienced for the young Sánchez, the bout ended in a split decision defeat for Sánchez. Sánchez kept on fighting and moved to the Featherweight division. Soon he had beaten people like the Puerto Rican featherweight champion Felix Trinidad Sr., on his way to securing a title shot at world champion Danny "Little Red" Lopez, a popular TV fighter of the late 1970s who was an impressive fighter and had won some spectacular fights against the likes of former world champion David Kotei (twice), Juan Malvares and Mike Ayala. Confident and hard to beat, Lopez was beaten by the 21-year-old Sánchez, who knocked out the defending champion in 13 rounds in Phoenix, Arizona, United States on February 2, 1980. Sánchez defended his title for the first time with a 15-round unanimous decision against Ruben Castillo (47 to 1). Thinking it was just a case of 'beginner's luck' (as it was Sánchez's first world title fight ever), Lopez looked for a rematch and this he got, in Las Vegas. This time Sánchez defeated Lopez by 14th-round TKO. In his next fight, he defeated Patrick Ford (15 to 0) . On December 13, 1980, Sánchez defeated future champion Juan Laporte by unanimous decision. Sánchez then defended his title against Roberto Castanon (43–1–0) and scored a win over Nicky Perez (50–3–0). Then undefeated World Jr Featherweight champion Wilfredo Gómez (32–0–1) went up in weight and challenged Sánchez. Sánchez retained the crown by a knockout in round eight on August 21, 1981, in Las Vegas, and Gómez had to return to the Jr. Featherweight division. With that victory, Salvador was an unknown to the casual boxing fan no more. He became a household name all over the United States that night. In his next fight, he defeated Olympic medalist Pat Cowdell by split decision. His defense vs unheralded Jorge "Rocky" Garcia was the second fight featuring two featherweights ever to be televised by HBO, the first having been his contest with Cowdell. He beat Garcia punch after punch, but the challenger gave honor to his nickname, an unknown fighter who lasts the distance with the world champion. On July 21, 1982, Sánchez faced future champion Azumah Nelson at Madison Square Garden. Nelson, a late substitute for mandatory challenger Mario Miranda, was unknown at the time however, and was expected to only go a few rounds with the champ. It was an intense battle, with Sánchez... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Sánchez TAGS: Salvador Sánchez, World Boxing Council champions, Boxers from the State of Mexico, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Featherweight boxers, Mexican male boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #SalvadorSánchez

Carlos Roque Monzón, nicknamed Escopeta (Shotgun in Spanish), was an Argentine professional boxer who held the undisputed world middleweight championship for 7 years. He successfully defended his title 14 times against 11 different fighters and is widely regarded as not only one of the best middleweights in history but also one of the greatest boxers of all time pound-for-pound. Known for his speed, punching power and relentless work rate, Monzon ended his career with a record of 87-3-9-1 with 59 knockouts, each one of his losses were early in his career and were avenged. Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, he was chosen by The Ring magazine in 2002 as the 11th greatest fighter of the last 80 years and voted him as the best middleweight title holder of the last 50 years in 2011. As of January 2018, Monzón holds the 2nd longest unified championship reign in middleweight history at 9 consecutive defenses. Monzón spent five and a half years in prison for killing his wife Alicia by throwing her off a balcony, and admitted that he had hit every single woman that he had dated. Argentinians adored Monzón throughout his career. His glamorous and violent life was avidly followed both by the media and Argentine people. He was, however, accused many times of domestic violence by his two wives and many mistresses, and of beating paparazzi. Charged with killing his second wife Alicia Muñiz in 1988, the former champion was sentenced to 11 years in jail. He died in a January 1995 car crash while on his way back to jail after receiving a weekend furlough. EARLY LIFE Monzón was born in the city of San Javier, Argentina, to a family of Mocoví descent. His parents were Roque Monzón and Amalia Ledesma. Monzón was raised in poverty with his twelve siblings. When Monzón was six years old, his family moved to Barranquitas Oeste, a poor neighborhood of Santa Fe, the capital of Santa Fe Province. To help out his family, he quit school in the third grade, working different jobs, such as shoeshiner, paperboy and milkman. As a youngster, he showed an interest in boxing. When he was sixteen, he met Zulema Encarnación Torres, with whom he had his first son, Carlos Alberto Monzón. Later, on 11 May 1962, he married Mercedes Beatriz García, nicknamed 'Pelusa'. They were so poor that they did not have enough money to buy the marriage license. They had three kids: Silvia Beatriz, Abel Ricardo and Carlos Raúl (who was adopted). BOXING BEGINNINGS Monzón had his first amateur fight on 2 October 1959. This first fight ended in a draw. Three years later, after a 73-6-8 amateur record, he became a professional. His first professional bout was held on 6 February 1963. He knocked out his opponent in the second round. In 1966, he won the Argentine middleweight title. In 1967, he won the South American middleweight title. After this success, Argentine boxing promoter Juan Carlos Lectoure pushed him into the international boxing scene by organizing fights with foreign boxers such as Douglas Huntley, Charles Austin, Johnny Brooks, Harold Richardson, Tommy Bethea, Bennie Briscoe (a ten-round tie) Manoel Severino and Eddy Pace. World middleweight champion Nino Benvenuti had long had a distinguished career that included championships in 2 divisions and 2 wins in 3 bouts vs all-time great Emile Griffith. He had lost the year before to American Tom Bethea in Australia, but in an actual title fight in Yugoslavia, he avenged that loss. Nobody expected Monzón to beat Benvenuti in their title match (very few knew of him). Yet Monzón applied pressure from the start, and in the 12th, a right hand landed perfectly on Benvenuti's chin, and the title changed hands. Monzón also beat Benvenuti in a rematch, this time in only three rounds in Monte Carlo when... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Monzón TAGS: Carlos Monzón, Prisoners and detainees of Argentina, People convicted of murder by Argentina, Argentine people convicted of murder, Argentine prisoners and detainees, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, World boxing champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Sportspeople from Santa Fe Argentina, Middleweight boxers, Argentine male boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #CarlosMonzón

Pernell Whitaker Sr. was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight; the undisputed lightweight title; and the lineal lightweight and welterweight titles. In 1989, Whitaker was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He currently holds the longest unified lightweight championship reign in boxing history at six title defenses. Whitaker is generally regarded as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all-time. As an amateur, Whitaker won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 1982 World Championships, followed by gold at the 1983 Pan American Games and 1984 Olympics. After his retirement in 2001, Whitaker returned to the sport as a trainer. In 2002, The Ring ranked him tenth in their list of "The 100 Greatest Fighters of the Last 80 Years". In 2006, Whitaker was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility. AMATEUR CAREER Whitaker had an extensive amateur boxing career, having started at the age of nine. He had 214 amateur fights, winning 201, 91 of them by knockouts, though he said that he had up to 500 amateur fights. He lost to two-time Olympic Gold medalist Ángel Herrera Vera at the final of the World Championships 1982 but beat him four other times, notably in the final of the Pan American Games 1983 in Caracas. He crowned his amateur career with an Olympic gold medal in 1984, beating Luis Ortiz to obtain it. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pernell_Whitaker TAGS: Pernell Whitaker, Pan American Games medalists in boxing, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World welterweight boxing champions, World light-welterweight boxing champions, World lightweight boxing champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists, American male boxers, Sportspeople from Norfolk Virginia, Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Boxers from Virginia, Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing, Boxers at the 1983 Pan American Games, Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States, Southpaw boxers, International Boxing Federation champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Olympic boxers of the United States, Doping cases in boxing #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #PernellWhitaker

Larry Holmes is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Easton Assassin". Holmes' left jab is often rated among the best in heavyweight boxing history. In addition to holding the WBC heavyweight title from 1978 to 1983, Holmes held the Ring magazine and lineal heavyweight titles from 1980 to 1985 and the inaugural IBF heavyweight title from 1983 to 1985. Holmes won his first 48 professional bouts, including victories over Ken Norton (the man he defeated in 1978 for the WBC championship), Muhammad Ali, Earnie Shavers, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, Carl Williams, and Marvis Frazier. Holmes fell one short of matching Rocky Marciano's career record of 49 to 0 when he lost to Michael Spinks in a 1985 upset. Holmes retired after losing a rematch to Spinks the following year but made repeated comebacks. He was unsuccessful in four further comeback attempts (against Mike Tyson in 1988, Evander Holyfield in 1992, Oliver McCall in 1995 and Brian Nielsen in 1997) to regain the heavyweight title. Holmes fought for the final time in 2002, at age 52, against the 334lb Eric "Butterbean" Esch and ended his career with a record of 69 wins and 6 losses, with all of his losses coming in world title fights. Holmes is frequently ranked as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and has been inducted into both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and World Boxing Hall of Fame. He is the only boxer to have defeated Muhammad Ali by stoppage and the last living boxer to have defeated Ali. EARLY LIFE Holmes was the fourth of twelve children born to John and Flossie Holmes. The family moved to Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania in 1954. Holmes' father went to Connecticut, where he visited the family every three weeks and worked as a gardener there until his death in 1970. "He didn't forsake us", said Flossie Holmes. "He just didn't have anything to give." The family survived on welfare. To help support his family, Holmes dropped out of school when he was in the seventh grade and went to work at a car wash for $1 an hour. He later drove a dump truck and worked in a Lehigh Valley quarry. AMATEUR CAREER Holmes began boxing at age 18. In his twenty-first bout, he boxed Nick Wells in the semifinals of the 1972 National Olympic Trials in Fort Worth, Texas. Wells, a southpaw known for unprecedently high knockout-to-win percentage for an amateur boxer, with a majority of knockouts coming in the first round, stopped Holmes in the first round. Nevertheless, Holmes was chosen by a selection committee of the National Olympic authorities to fight at the Olympic box-offs in West Point, New York, where he had a match-up versus Duane Bobick. Holmes was dropped in the first round with a right to the head. He got up and danced out of range, landing several stiff jabs in the process. Bobick mauled Holmes in the second round but could not corner him. The referee warned Holmes twice in the second round for holding. In the third, Bobick landed several good rights and started to corner Holmes, who continued to hold. Eventually, Holmes was disqualified for excessive holding. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Holmes TAGS: Larry Holmes, World Boxing Council champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, Sportspeople from Easton Pennsylvania, People from Cuthbert Georgia, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, International Boxing Federation champions, Boxers from Pennsylvania, American male boxers, African-American boxers, 21st-century African-American people, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #LarryHolmes

Alexis Argüello was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA featherweight title from 1974 to 1976; the WBC super featherweight title from 1978 to 1980; and the WBC lightweight title from 1981 to 1982. Additionally, he held the Ring magazine and lineal featherweight titles from 1975 to 1977; the Ring lightweight title from 1981 to 1982; and the lineal lightweight title in 1982. In his later career he challenged twice for light welterweight world titles, both times in famous fights against Aaron Pryor. Argüello has regularly been cited as one of the greatest boxers of his era, having never lost any of his world titles in the ring, instead relinquishing them each time in pursuit of titles in higher weight classes. After his retirement from boxing, he became active in Nicaraguan politics and in November 2008 was elected mayor of his native Managua, the nation's capital city. The Ring magazine has ranked Argüello as 20th on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time", while the Associated Press ranked him as the world's best Junior Lightweight of the 20th century. He was named one of the 20 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring magazine and is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers to ever come out of Latin America and one of the few to have fought in four different decades. EARLY LIFE AND AMATEUR CAREER Argüello was born April 19, 1952. His father was a shoemaker. Argüello had a troubled childhood, growing up in abject poverty in Managua. When he was 5 years old, his father attempted suicide. At the age of 9, Argüello ran away to work in a dairy farm. When he was 13, he emigrated to Canada to provide for his family. Argüello was constantly involved in street brawls through his teenage years, but it wasn't until his sister Marina, one of Alexis' 7 siblings, married a boxer that young Alexis took an interest in the sport. Argüello's brief amateur career saw him compile a 58 to 2 record. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_Argüello TAGS: Alexis Argüello, Bantamweight boxers, The Ring (magazine) champions, Light-welterweight boxers, Sportspeople from Managua, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Suicides by firearm in Nicaragua, Politicians who committed suicide, Nicaraguan male boxers, Mayors of Managua, World lightweight boxing champions, World super-featherweight boxing champions, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, World featherweight boxing champions, Nicaraguan sportsperson-politicians, 2009 suicides #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #AlexisArgüello

Eder Jofre was a Brazilian professional boxer and architect who was both Bantamweight and Featherweight world champion. In 2019, he was voted the 16th greatest boxer of all-time, which made him the third greatest living boxer (behind only Roberto Durán and Sugar Ray Leonard) by "The International Boxing Research Organization". In 2002, he was named the 19th greatest fighter of the past 80 years by The Ring magazine. In 1996, he was rated the 9th greatest boxer of the previous 50 years. He is ranked #85 on Ring Magazine's 100 Greatest Punchers Of All Time list. In 1992, Jofre was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, and remains the only Brazilian thus honored. AMATEUR CAREER Jofre represented his native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. OLYMPIC RESULTS First-round bye Defeated Thein Myint (Burma) on points. Lost to Claudio Barrientos (Chile) on points. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Éder_Jofre TAGS: Éder Jofre, The Ring (magazine) champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, World featherweight boxing champions, World bantamweight boxing champions, Featherweight boxers, Bantamweight boxers, Deaths from pneumonia in São Paulo (state), Brazilian designers, Brazilian architects, Boxers at the 1956 Summer Olympics, Olympic boxers of Brazil, Brazilian people of Portuguese descent, Brazilian people of Italian descent, Brazilian people of Greek descent, Brazilian people of French descent, Sportspeople from São Paulo, Brazilian male boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #ÉderJofre

Roy Levesta Jones Jr. is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight, and is the only boxer in history to start his professional career at light middleweight and go on to win a heavyweight title. As an amateur, he represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the light middleweight division after one of the most controversial decisions in boxing history. Jones is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, pound for pound, and left his mark in the sport's history when he won the WBA heavyweight title in 2003, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years. In 1999 he became the undisputed light heavyweight champion by unifying the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles. During his prime, Jones was known for possessing exceptional hand speed, athleticism, footwork, explosiveness, punching power, movement and reflexes. As of February 2018, Jones holds the record for the most wins in unified light heavyweight title bouts in boxing history, at twelve. He is ranked by BoxRec as the 29th greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. The Ring magazine named Jones the Fighter of the Year in 1994, and the World Boxing Hall of Fame named him the Fighter of the Year for 2003. He is also a three-time winner of the Best Boxer ESPY Award (1996, 2000, and 2003). The Boxing Writers Association of America named him as the Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s. EARLY LIFE Roy Jones Jr. was born to a family with a boxing tradition. His father, Roy Jones Sr., a Vietnam war veteran who was awarded a Bronze Star for valor after he rescued another soldier. Jones Sr. was a middleweight boxer as well. AMATEUR CAREER Jones won the 1984 United States National Junior Olympics in the 119 lb (54 kg) weight division, the 1986 United States National Golden Gloves in the 139 lb (63 kg) division, and the 1987 United States National Golden Gloves in the 156 lb (71 kg) division. As an amateur, he ended his career with a 121 to 13 record. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Jones_Jr. TAGS: Roy Jones Jr., People with multiple nationality, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, 21st-century African-American musicians, 21st-century American male musicians, Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games, Goodwill Games medalists in boxing, Boxing commentators, 21st-century American rappers, Russian people of African-American descent, Russian male boxers, Light-welterweight boxers, National Golden Gloves champions, World light-heavyweight boxing champions, World super-middleweight boxing champions, World middleweight boxing champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, Olympic silver medalists for the United States in boxing, Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics, Naturalised citizens of Russia, World heavyweight boxing champions, American male boxers, African-American male actors, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #RoyJonesJr.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler) was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 to 1987, making twelve successful title defenses, all but one by knockout. Hagler also holds the highest knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight champions at 78 percent. His undisputed middleweight championship reign of six years and seven months is the second-longest active reign of the last century. He holds the record for the sixth longest reign as champion in middleweight history. Nicknamed "Marvelous" and annoyed that network announcers often did not refer to him as such, Hagler legally changed his name to "Marvelous Marvin Hagler" in 1982. Hagler is an inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He was twice named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America, as well as Fighter of the Decade (1980s) by Boxing Illustrated magazine. In 2001 and 2004, The Ring named him the fourth greatest middleweight of all time and in 2002 named him the 17th greatest fighter of the past 69 years. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Hagler as the sixth greatest middleweight of all time, while BoxRec rates him the 29th greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound. Many analysts and boxing writers consider Hagler to have one of the most durable chins in boxing history, having been knocked down only once during his entire professional career. The lone knockdown, scored by Juan Roldán of Argentina, is still being disputed. EARLY LIFE, FAMILY AND EDUCATION Hagler was the first child of Robert Sims and Ida Mae Hagler, born on May 23, 1954. His birth year publicly came to light in 1982, when he had to state his date of birth in order to legally change from Marvin Nathaniel Hagler to Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Hagler was raised by his mother in the Central Ward of Newark, New Jersey, United States along with five siblings: sisters Veronica, Cheryl, Genarra, and Noreen, and half brother Robbie Sims, who, like Hagler, would also become a professional boxer. Hagler first put on gloves at the age of ten, for a social worker he knew only as Mister Joe, who taught him sports and got him involved in counseling other children. Hagler dropped out of school at the age of 14 and worked in a toy factory to help support the family. Ida Mae recalled her eldest son had always wanted to box and promised one day to buy her a home. Growing up, Hagler would pretend he was Floyd Patterson or Emile Griffith. Following the riots of 1967 in which 26 people were killed and $11 million in property damage was caused, including the destruction of the Haglers' tenement, his family moved to Brockton, Massachusetts. Hagler said that looking down on the streets at the looters was almost like watching ants on a picnic table. Ida Mae described the riots as "really terrifying" and nobody left the Hagler apartment for three days. The family lay under Veronica's bed during this time, with a pair of bullets smashing through the bedroom window, and shattering the plaster above the bed. Hagler and his siblings were forbidden from standing up by Ida Mae, who told her children to "stay away from the windows." The family crawled about the five-room apartment, sliding around on cushions to reach the bathroom and kitchen. Once the riot was over, the nearby neighborhoods were mostly in ruin, and many cars had been stripped for parts. After another riot nearly two years later, Hagler and his family got out of Newark and moved to Brockton, Massachusetts. AMATEUR CAREER In 1969, Hagler took up boxing after being roughed up on the street by a local boxer—whom he... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvelous_Marvin_Hagler TAGS: Marvelous Marvin Hagler, World middleweight boxing champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers, Southpaw boxers, Sportspeople from Brockton Massachusetts, The Ring (magazine) champions, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, International Boxing Federation champions, Boxers from Newark New Jersey, Boxers from Massachusetts, American male boxers, American expatriates in Italy, African-American boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #MarvelousMarvinHagler

Emile Alphonse Griffith was a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who won world titles in three weight divisions. He held the world light middleweight, undisputed welterweight, and middleweight titles. His best-known contest was a 1962 title match with Benny Paret. Griffith won the bout by knockout; Paret never recovered consciousness and died in the hospital 10 days later. In 1963 and 1964, Griffith was voted Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. In 2002, he was listed #33 on Ring Magazine's list of 80 greatest fighters of the past 80 years. Griffith currently ranks #127 in BoxRec's ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990. CAREER AMATEUR As a teen he was working at a hat factory on a steamy day when his boss, the factory owner, agreed to Griffith's request to work shirtless. When the owner, a former amateur boxer, noticed his frame, he took Griffith to trainer Gil Clancy's gym. Griffith won the 1958 New York Golden Gloves 147 lb Open Championship. Griffith defeated Osvaldo Marcano of the Police Athletic Leagues Lynch Center in the finals to win the Championship. In 1957 Griffith advanced to the finals of the 147-lb Sub-Novice division and was defeated by Charles Wormley of the Salem Crescent Athletic Club. Griffith trained at the West 28th Street Parks Department Gym in New York City. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emile_Griffith TAGS: Emile Griffith, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, LGBT boxers, Bisexual sportspeople, Bisexual men, American LGBT sportspeople, LGBT African Americans, Sportspeople with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, American male boxers, African-American boxers, World boxing champions, Welterweight boxers, United States Virgin Islands male boxers, People from Weehawken New Jersey, People from Saint Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands, Middleweight boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Deaths from dementia in New York (state) #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #EmileGriffith

Thomas Hearns is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowed him to move up over fifty pounds in his career and become the first boxer in history to win world titles in five weight divisions: welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight. Hearns was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America in 1980 and 1984; the latter following his knockout of Roberto Durán. Hearns was known as a devastating puncher throughout his career, even at cruiserweight, despite having climbed up five weight classes. He is ranked number 18 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. He currently ranks #78 in BoxRec ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time. On June 10, 2012, Hearns was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. EARLY LIFE Hearns was born in Grand Junction, Tennessee, on October 18, 1958, the youngest of three children in his mother's first marriage. With her second marriage, six children joined the first three. On her own, Mrs. Hearns raised Tommy and his siblings in Grand Junction until Tommy was five years old; then the family moved to Detroit, Michigan. Hearns had an amateur record of 155 to 8. In 1977, he won the National Amateur Athletic Union Light Welterweight Championship, defeating Bobby Joe Young of Steubenville, Ohio, in the finals. He also won the 1977 National Golden Gloves Light Welterweight Championship. PROFESSIONAL CAREER Hearns began his professional boxing career in Detroit, Michigan, under the tutelage of Emanuel Steward in 1977. Steward had changed Hearns from a light hitting amateur boxer to one of the most devastating punchers in boxing history. He won six major world titles in five weight classes during his pro career, defeating future boxing hall of famers such as José "Pipino" Cuevas, Wilfred Benítez, Virgil Hill and Roberto Durán. In addition, he won the IBO title at Cruiserweight. Hearns started his career by knocking out his first 17 opponents. In 1980, Hearns carried his 28 to 0 record into a world title match against Mexico's Cuevas. Hearns ended Cuevas's 4-year reign by beating him by TKO in the second round. Hearns was voted "Fighter of the Year" by Ring Magazine in 1980. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hearns TAGS: Thomas Hearns, 21st-century African-American people, Detroit Police Department officers, Boxers from Tennessee, Light-welterweight boxers, National Golden Gloves champions, World light-heavyweight boxing champions, World super-middleweight boxing champions, World middleweight boxing champions, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World welterweight boxing champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, American male boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers, International Boxing Organization champions, World Boxing Organization champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Cruiserweight boxers, African-American boxers, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #ThomasHearns

William David Conn was an Irish American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion famed for his fights with Joe Louis. He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout. His nickname, throughout most of his career, was "The Pittsburgh Kid." He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990. EARLY CAREER Conn debuted as a professional boxer winning on July 20, 1934, against Johnny Lewis, via a knockout in round three. Conn built a record of 47 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw (tie), with 7 knockout wins, before challenging for the World Light Heavyweight title. Along the way, he beat former or future world champions Fritzie Zivic, Solly Krieger and Fred Apostoli, as well as Teddy Yarosz and Young Corbett III. On July 13, 1939, he met World Light Heavyweight Champion Melio Bettina in New York, outpointing him in 15 rounds and winning the World Light Heavyweight Championship as a result. Conn defended his title against Bettina and twice against another World Light Heavyweight Champion, Gus Lesnevich, each of those three bouts resulting in 15-round decision wins for Conn. Conn also beat former World Middleweight Champion Al McCoy and heavyweights Bob Pastor, Lee Savold, Gunnar Barlund and Buddy Knox in non-title bouts during his run as World Light Heavyweight Champion. JOE LOUIS ERA In May 1941, Conn gave up his World Light Heavyweight title to challenge World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis. Conn attempted to become the first World Light Heavyweight Champion in boxing history to win the World Heavyweight Championship when he and Louis met on June 18 of that year, and incredibly, to do so without going up in weight. The fight became part of boxing's lore because Conn held a secure lead on the scorecards leading to round 13. According to many experts and fans who watched the fight, Conn was outmaneuvering Louis up to that point. In a move that Conn would regret for the rest of his life, he tried to go for the knockout in round 13, and instead wound up losing the fight by knockout in that same round himself. Ten minutes after the fight, Conn told reporters, "I lost my head and a million bucks." When asked by a reporter why he went for the knockout, Conn replied famously, "What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?" In his long account in Sports Illustrated of the life and boxing career of Conn, sportswriter Frank Deford wrote that afterwards Conn would joke, "I told Joe later, 'Hey, Joe, why didn't you just let me have the title for six months?' All I ever wanted was to be able to go around the corner where the guys are loafing and say, 'Hey, I'm the heavyweight champeen of the world.' "And you know what Joe said back to me? He said, 'I let you have it for twelve rounds, and you couldn't keep it. How could I let you have it for six months?'" In 1942, Conn beat Tony Zale and had an exhibition with Louis. World War II was at one of its most important moments, however, and both Conn and Louis were called to serve in the Army. Conn went to war and was away from the ring until 1946. By then, the public was clamoring for a rematch between him and the still World Heavyweight Champion Louis. This happened, and on June 19, 1946, Conn returned into the ring, straight into a World Heavyweight Championship bout. Before that fight, it was suggested to Louis that Conn might outpoint him because of his hand and foot speed. In a line that would be long-remembered, Louis replied: "He can run, but he can't hide." The fight, at Yankee Stadium, was the first televised World Heavyweight Championship bout ever, and 146,000 people watched it on TV, also setting a record for the most seen world heavyweight bout in history. Most people who saw it agreed that... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Conn TAGS: Billy Conn, World boxing champions, Boxers from Pittsburgh, Light-heavyweight boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Burials at Calvary Catholic Cemetery (Pittsburgh), American Roman Catholics, American people of Irish descent #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #BillyConn

Ray Charles Leonard, best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning world titles in five weight classes; the lineal championship in three weight classes; as well as the undisputed welterweight championship. Leonard was part of the "Four Kings", a group of boxers who all fought each other throughout the 1980s, consisting of Leonard, Roberto Durán, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. Leonard also won a light welterweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. The "Four Kings" created a wave of popularity in the lower weight classes that kept boxing relevant in the post-Muhammad Ali era, during which Leonard defeated future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Hearns, Durán, Hagler, and Wilfred Benítez. Leonard was also the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, and was named "Boxer of the Decade" in the 1980s. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1979 and 1981, while the Boxing Writers Association of America named him Fighter of the Year in 1976, 1979, and 1981. In 2002, Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years. In 2016, he was voted by The Ring to be the greatest living fighter. BoxRec ranks him as the 14th greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound. EARLY LIFE Leonard, the fifth of seven children of Cicero and Getha Leonard, was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was named after Ray Charles, his mother's favorite singer. The family moved to Washington, D.C., when he was three, and they settled permanently in Palmer Park, Maryland when he was ten. His father worked as a supermarket night manager and his mother was a nurse. He attended Parkdale High School. Leonard was a shy child, and aside from the time he nearly drowned in a creek during a flood in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, his childhood was uneventful. He stayed home a lot, reading comic books and playing with his dog. His mother said: "He never did talk too much. We never could tell what he was thinking. But I never had any problems with him. I never had to go to school once because of him." AMATEUR CAREER Leonard started boxing at the Palmer Park Recreation Center in 1969. His older brother, Roger, started boxing first. Roger helped start the boxing program, urging the center's director, Ollie Dunlap, to form a team. Dave Jacobs, a former boxer, and Janks Morton volunteered as boxing coaches. Roger won some trophies and showed them off in front of Ray, goading him to start boxing. In 1972, Leonard boxed in the featherweight quarterfinals of the National AAU Tournament, losing by decision to Jerome Artis. It was his first defeat. Later that year, he boxed in the Eastern Olympic Trials. The rules stated that a boxer had to be seventeen to box in international competition, so Leonard, only sixteen, lied about his age. He made it to the lightweight semifinals, losing a disputed decision to Greg Whaley, who took such a beating that he wasn't allowed to continue in the trials and never boxed again. Sarge Johnson, assistant coach of the US Olympic Boxing Team, said to Dave Jacobs, "That kid you got is sweet as sugar". The nickname stuck. However, given his style and first name, it was probably only a matter of time before people started calling him Sugar Ray, after the man many consider to be the best boxer of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson. In 1973, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves Lightweight Championship, but lost to Randy Shields in the lightweight final of the National AAU Tournament. The following year, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championships. Leonard... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Ray_Leonard TAGS: Sugar Ray Leonard, 21st-century African-American people, Boxing commentators, Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games, Sportspeople with a vision impairment, Boxers from North Carolina, National Golden Gloves champions, Lightweight boxers, Light-welterweight boxers, Pan American Games medalists in boxing, World light-heavyweight boxing champions, World super-middleweight boxing champions, World middleweight boxing champions, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World welterweight boxing champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, American male boxers, People from Palmer Park Maryland, Sportspeople from Wilmington North Carolina, Boxers from Washington D.C., Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers, World Boxing Organization champions, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Participants in American reality television series #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #SugarRayLeonard

William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. A cultural icon of the 1920s, Dempsey's aggressive fighting style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate. He pioneered the live broadcast of sporting events in general, and boxing matches in particular. Dempsey is ranked tenth on The Ring magazine's list of all-time heavyweights and seventh among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers, while in 1950 the Associated Press voted him as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was in the previous Boxing Hall of Fame. EARLY LIFE AND CAREER EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY BACKGROUND Born William Harrison Dempsey in Manassa, Colorado in 1895, he grew up in Colorado and West Virginia. The son of Mary Celia (née Smoot) and Hiram Dempsey, he was of part Irish ancestry and also claimed to be partially Cherokee. William A. Dempsey, of Logan County, West Virginia, identified his son John Dempsey, Jr. of Mud Fork of Island Creek as executor of his last will and testament dated May 1, 1875. Upon payment of his debts and funeral expenses, he directed that his wife Mahulda receive the balance of his personal property while his six children receive an equal share of his real estate. His last will and testament, as witnessed by Estella, John, and Hiram Dempsey, was presented to the Logan County clerk on August 10, 1875. Hiram and Celia Dempsey, parents to Jack, left West Virginia in 1887. One newspaper referred to them as "active workers" for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dempsey was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in 1903 following his eighth birthday, the "age of accountability", according to church doctrine. Hiram Dempsey and his family returned to Logan County when Jack was a small boy where he was raised until shortly before commencement of his boxing career. Said the Logan Banner: "While he was a mere child they returned to Logan county. Jack remained here until a young man, having been employed by the Gay Coal and Coke Company as late as 1913, and then went west alone to seek pugilistic fortune. He met Jack Kearns on the Pacific coast, from which point his spectacular climb to the pinnacle of the heavyweight division furnished the sport with one of its most romantic episodes." In January 1924, the Banner reported on Dempsey's trip from New York to Florida, stating that he "used to call Logan home." In August 1926, the Banner reported how local boxer Bear Cat Clemons sparred two rounds per day with Dempsey at Saratoga Lake, New York, remarking: "When Dempsey and Clemons face each other in the squared circle, it is Logan county versus Logan county." The Banner, in a small September 1926 item, provided more history about Dempsey's Logan County roots: "The Dempsey family at one time lived on Mud Fork and another period near the Logan-Mingo line. Many relatives live in the two counties; and they as well as his former friends have taken pride in his prowess and successes. As a boy Jack and O.D. Avis, sports editor of The Banner, used to set up pins in a bowling alley on the Main street corner now occupied by the Logan garage." In June 1927, former Logan County sheriff Don Chafin traveled to New York to watch the Dempsey-Sharkey fight. The Logan Banner reported: "Mr. Chafin has attended every fight in which Dempsey has participated since he won the world's championship in Toledo. They have been close friends since Dempsey was a boy and a familiar... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dempsey TAGS: Jack Dempsey, United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II, National Guard (United States) officers, New York National Guard personnel, Light-heavyweight boxers, American male boxers, World heavyweight boxing champions, United States Coast Guard officers, Sportspeople from Colorado, People from Manassa Colorado, Native American boxers, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Boxers from California, World boxing champions, Irish male boxers, Boxers from Colorado, American people of Cherokee descent, American people of Irish descent, American Latter Day Saints, Latter Day Saints from Colorado, American Freemasons, Jack Dempsey #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #JackDempsey

Roberto Durán Samaniego is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as well as reigns as the undisputed and lineal lightweight champion, and the lineal welterweight champion. He is also the second boxer to have competed over a span of five decades, the first being Jack Johnson. Durán was known as a versatile, technical brawler and pressure fighter, which earned him the nickname of "Manos de Piedra" ("Hands of Stone") for his formidable punching power and excellent defense. In 2002, Durán was voted by The Ring magazine as the fifth greatest fighter of the last 80 years, while boxing historian Bert Sugar rated him as the eighth greatest fighter of all time. The Associated Press voted him as the best lightweight of the 20th century, with many considering him the greatest lightweight of all time. Durán retired for good in January 2002 at age 50, following a car crash in Argentina in October 2001, after which he had required life saving surgery. He had previously retired in November 1980, June 1984 and August 1998, only to change his mind. Durán ended his career with a professional record of 119 fights, 103 wins, and 70 knockouts. From May 1971 up until his second fight against Sugar Ray Leonard in November 1980, as well as in his fight against Wilfred Benítez in January 1982, Durán was trained by legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel. EARLY LIFE Roberto Durán was born on June 16, 1951, in Guararé, Panama. His mother, Clara Samaniego, was a native of Guararé, and his father, Margarito Durán Sánchez, was from Arizona, United States, and of Mexican descent. He was raised in the slums of El Chorrillo in the district "La Casa de Piedra" (The House of Stone), in Panama City. He began sparring with experienced boxers at the Neco de La Guardia gymnasium when he was only eight years old. AMATEUR CAREER Durán competed as an amateur, compiling a record of 29 to 3 (other sources say 18 to 3 or 13 to 3), with all 3 losses coming in Durán's first 3 amateur fights. Following his amateur career, Durán made his professional debut in February 1968 at the age of 16. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Durán TAGS: Roberto Durán, 20th-century Panamanian male singers, Salsa musicians, World middleweight boxing champions, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World welterweight boxing champions, World lightweight boxing champions, The Ring (magazine) champions, Super-middleweight boxers, Panamanian male boxers, Panamanian aviators, World Boxing Council champions, World Boxing Association champions, Panamanian people of American descent, Panamanian people of Mexican descent, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, People from Guararé, Living people #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #RobertoDurán

Guglielmo Papaleo was an American professional boxer, better known as Willie Pep who held the World Featherweight championship twice between the years of 1942 and 1950. Papaleo was born in an Italian family: the father Salvatore was from Rosolini, whereas the mother, Maria Marchese, from Melilli. Pep boxed a total of 1,956 rounds in the 241 bouts during his 26-year career, a considerable number of rounds and bouts even for a fighter of his era. His final record was 229–11–1 with 65 knockouts. Pep, known for his speed, finesse and elusiveness, is considered to be one of the best fighters of the 20th century; after his 199th win, Kid Campeche described his experience by saying, "Fighting Willie Pep is like trying to stomp out a grass fire." Pep was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Pep was voted as the No. 1 featherweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press and ranked the No. 1 featherweight of all-time by the International Boxing Research Organization in 2005. He is currently ranked by BoxRec as the 31st greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. BOXING CAREER AMATEUR CAREER Pep first fought as an amateur in 1937. At the time, amateur boxers from Connecticut were allowed to fight for money. It was during the Great Depression and Pep's father was earning $15 per week at the Works Progress Administration. Pep worked as a shoeshine boy in downtown Hartford alongside Johnny Duke. Both boys joined a gym together and became sparring partners. Willie was soon earning more in one night of fighting each week. When his parents found out he was boxing, his mother was worried for him, but his father said that if he was making so much fighting on Fridays, maybe he should see about fighting on Tuesdays as well. "My old man, he was a sports fan" Pep later quipped. In 1938 Pep fought Sugar Ray Robinson in the attic of a feed store in Norwich, Connecticut. According to Pep's later telling, Robinson was an amateur champion in the state of New York, where amateurs were not paid, so he took a pseudonym to get bouts for money in Connecticut. Because of this, Pep did not know who he was fighting at the time. Before the fight he was told his unknown opponent was not good, but he recalls quickly learning otherwise once the bout began and Robinson was "all over me". LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Pep TAGS: Willie Pep, Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents, American male boxers, Boxers from Connecticut, Sportspeople from Middletown Connecticut, American boxers of Italian descent, Deaths from Alzheimer's disease, Deaths from dementia in Connecticut, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Featherweight boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #WilliePep

Henry Jackson Jr. was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisions: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He defended his welterweight title a total of nineteen times. The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1937. The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Year in 1940. He is currently ranked by BoxRec as the 12th-greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. In 2007, The Ring ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years. Historian Bert Sugar also ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of all time. ESPN ranked Armstrong as number 3 on their list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990. In 2019, the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) ranked him as the second best boxer of all time, pound for pound, as well as the second-best featherweight, third-best welterweight, and fifth-best lightweight of all time. EARLY LIFE He was born Henry Jackson, Jr. on December 12, 1912, in Columbus, Mississippi. He was the son of Henry Jackson Sr., a sharecropper of African American descent and America Jackson, said to be a "full-blooded" Iroquois. As a child, Henry Jr. moved with his family to St. Louis, Missouri, during the early period of the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to industrial cities of the Midwest and North. There he became involved in boxing. He graduated as an honor student from Vashon High School in St. Louis Later he took the surname Armstrong as his fighting name. EARLY CAREER Armstrong began his professional career on July 28, 1931, in a fight with Al Iovino, in which Armstrong was knocked out in three rounds. His first win came later that year, beating Sammy Burns by a decision in six. In 1932, Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, where he lost two four-round decisions in a row to Eddie Trujillo and Al Greenfield. Following these two losses, however, he started a streak of 11 wins. In 1936, Armstrong split his time among Los Angeles, Mexico City and St. Louis. A few notable opponents of that year include Ritchie Fontaine, Baby Arizmendi, former world champion Juan Zurita, and Mike Belloise. Early in his career, he fought some fights under the ring name Melody Jackson. In 1937 alone, Armstrong went 27 to 0 (26KO). Aldo Spoldi was the only opponent to take him the full 10 rounds. He kayoed Baby Casanova in three rounds, Belloise in four, Joe Rivers in three, former world champion Frankie Klick in four, and former world champion Benny Bass in four. Armstrong was given his first world title fight, for the title in the 126-pound weight class against World Featherweight Champion Petey Sarron at Madison Square Garden. Armstrong knocked Sarron out in six rounds, becoming the World Featherweight Champion. Armstrong's two nicknames were Hurricane Henry and Homicide' Hank. In 1938, Armstrong started his season with seven more knockouts in a row, including one over Chalky Wright, a future world champion. The streak finally ended when Arizmendi lasted ten rounds before losing a decision to Armstrong in their fourth fight. Armstrong's streak of 27 knockout wins in a row qualifies as one of the longest knockout win streaks in the history of boxing, according to The Ring magazine. Later in 1938, Armstrong, still the Featherweight division world champion, challenged Barney Ross for the title. Later a fellow member of the three division champions' club, Ross was then World Welterweight Champion. Armstrong, at 133+1⁄2 pounds, beat Ross, at 142 pounds, by unanimous decision, adding the... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Armstrong TAGS: Henry Armstrong, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, Baptists from Mississippi, American Christians, World boxing champions, World lightweight boxing champions, Lightweight boxers, World welterweight boxing champions, Welterweight boxers, Boxers from St. Louis, People from Columbus Mississippi, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, World colored welterweight boxing champions, World featherweight boxing champions, Featherweight boxers, Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, Boxers from Mississippi, American people of Irish descent, 20th-century Native Americans, Native American boxers, African-American boxers, American male boxers #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #HenryArmstrong

The Curse of Tippecanoe (also known as Tecumseh's Curse, the 20-year Curse or the Zero Curse) is an urban legend about the deaths in office of presidents of the United States who were elected in years that end with the digit 0, which all are divisible by 20. The presidents elected on such years from 1840 to 1960 died in office: William Henry Harrison (1840), Abraham Lincoln (1860), James A. Garfield (1880), William McKinley (1900), Warren G. Harding (1920), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1940) and John F. Kennedy (1960). These are seven of the eight total presidents who have died in office. Since 1960, the three presidents who were elected on applicable years have not died in office. Ronald Reagan (1980) and George W. Bush (2000) survived their terms in office, though Reagan was shot in 1981 and Bush choked on a pretzel in 2002. Joe Biden (2020) is the current president and the latest to be elected in a year fitting the pattern. The phenomenon's name references Harrison's pre-presidential military expeditions, in which he defeated Native American tribes led by Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Rumor has it that he was cursed by Tenskwatawa. The purported curse has been criticized as a coincidental pattern, and a 2009 survey of professional historians found no interest in or insight into the curse. HISTORY Thomas Jefferson (1800) and James Monroe (1820) preceded the supposed curse and outlived their presidencies by 17 and 6 years, respectively. Neither of them was ever targeted by an assassin. However, there is a curious coincidence that both men died on the Fourth of July. William Henry Harrison was elected president in 1840 and died in 1841, just a month after being sworn in. In Tecumseh's War, Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his younger brother Tenskwatawa organized a confederation of Indian tribes to resist the westward expansion of the United States. In the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, Harrison defeated Tenskwatawa and his troops, acting as the governor of the Indiana Territory. Harrison thus earned the moniker "Old Tippecanoe". In 1931 and 1948, the trivia book series Ripley's Believe It or Not! noted the pattern and termed it the "Curse of Tippecanoe". Strange as It Seems by John Hix ran a cartoon prior to the election of 1940 titled "Curse over the White House!" and claimed that "In the last 100 years, Every U.S. President Elected at 20-Year Intervals Has Died In Office!" In February 1960, journalist Ed Koterba noted that "The next President of the United States will face an eerie curse that for more than a century has hung over every chief executive elected in a year ending with zero." Both of their hints at the elected president's death came true, with Roosevelt's death in 1945 and Kennedy's assassination in 1963. The first written account to refer to the source of the curse was an article by Lloyd Shearer in 1980 in Parade magazine. It is claimed[by whom?] that when Tecumseh was killed in a later battle, Tenskwatawa set a curse against Harrison. Running for re-election in 1980, President Jimmy Carter was asked about the curse at a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio, on October 2 of that year while taking questions from the crowd. A high school student asked Carter if he was concerned about "predictions that every 20 years or election years ending in zero, the President dies in office." Carter replied, "I've seen those predictions. [...] I'm not afraid. If I knew it was going to happen, I would go ahead and be President and do the best I could till the last day I could." Since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, no president has died in office. Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded severely two months after his 1981 inauguration. Days after Reagan survived the shooting, columnist Jack... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_Tippecanoe TAGS: Curse of Tippecanoe, United States presidents and death, Tecumseh, Assassination of John F. Kennedy, Assassination of William McKinley, Assassination of James A. Garfield, Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding, William Henry Harrison, Presidency of William Henry Harrison, United States presidential history, Presidential elections in the United States, Curses #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #CurseofTippecanoe

An elephants' graveyard (also written elephant graveyard, elephant's graveyard, or elephants' cemetery) is a place where, according to legend, older elephants instinctively direct themselves when they reach a certain age. According to this legend, these elephants would then die there alone, far from the group. However, there is no evidence in support of the existence of the elephants' graveyard. ORIGIN Several theories have been proposed to explain the origin of this myth. One theory involves people finding groups of elephant skeletons together, or observing old elephants and skeletons in the same habitat. Others suggest the term may spring from group die-offs, such as one excavated in Saxony-Anhalt, which had 27 Palaeoloxodon antiquus skeletons. In that particular case, the tusks of the skeletons were missing, which indicated either hunters killed a group of elephants in one spot, or else opportunistic scavengers removed the tusks from a natural die-off. Other theories focus on elephant behavior during lean times, suggesting starving or elderly elephants who have worn their teeth down to a point that they can no longer chew tougher foods gather in places where finding food is easier, and subsequently die there. Prolific elephant hunter Walter "Karamojo" Bell discounted the idea of the elephant's graveyard, stating that bones and "tusks were still lying about in the bush where they had lain for years". POPULAR CULTURE The idea of a graveyard for elephants was popularised in films such as Trader Horn and MGM's Tarzan films, in which groups of greedy explorers attempt to locate the elephants' graveyard, on the fictional Mutia Escarpment, in search of its riches of ivory. Osamu Tezuka's Kimba the White Lion episode "A Friend in Deed" centred around it. Disney's 1994 animated musical film The Lion King has a reference to this motif, as well as its musical adaptation and the 2019 remake of the film. In "Fearful Symmetry", an episode from The X-Files which revolves around a mysterious invisible elephant, a character refers to this. The Cartoon Network series Primal episode "A Cold Death" depicts a similar locale, a mammoth's graveyard, at the episode's end. LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephants'_graveyard TAGS: Elephants' graveyard, Animals in mythology, Elephants, Animal cemeteries #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #Elephants'graveyard

The Pope Lick Monster (more commonly, colloquially, the Goat Man) is a legendary part-man, part-goat and part-sheep creature reported to live beneath a railroad trestle bridge over Pope Lick Creek, in the Fisherville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Numerous urban legends exist about the creature's origins and the methods it employs to claim its victims. According to some accounts, the creature uses either hypnosis or voice mimicry to lure trespassers onto the trestle to meet their death before an oncoming train. Other stories claim the monster jumps down from the trestle onto the roofs of cars passing beneath it. Yet other legends tell that it attacks its victims with a blood-stained axe and that the very sight of the creature is so unsettling that those who see it while walking across the high trestle are driven to leap off. Other legends hold that the monster is a human-goat hybrid, and that it was a circus freak who vowed revenge after being mistreated. In one version, it is said the monster escaped after a train derailed on the trestle. Another version commonly told by locals of the area claims that the monster is really the twisted reincarnated form of a farmer who sacrificed goats in exchange for Satanic powers. The legends have turned the area into a site for legend tripping. There have been a number of deaths and accidents at the trestle since its construction, despite the presence of an 8-foot (2.4 m) fence to keep thrill-seekers out. There is a common misconception that the trestle is abandoned and no longer used; in reality, the bridge carries a major rail artery into Louisville. Heavy freight trains cross the bridge several times daily, so it is easy for someone to get caught atop it while an oncoming train barrels down on them. Norfolk Southern Railway urged citizens not to climb the trestle, saying if caught they would be arrested. MEDIA The monster was the subject of a 1988 film by Louisville filmmaker Ron Schildknecht called The Legend of the Pope Lick Monster. The 16-minute, $6,000 film premiered on December 29, 1988 at the Uptown Theater. Most of the film was shot at the Pope Lick Trestle, but scenes showing the characters up on the trestle were shot at another, safer location. Norfolk Southern Railway officials were very upset about the film, as they thought it would encourage teenagers to visit the trestles. They found one scene in particular dangerously misleading. In the scene, the main character, a high school student, narrowly escapes an approaching train by hanging off the side of the trestle. In reality, few people would have the strength to hang on for the 5 to 7 minutes it takes for a long train to clear the 772-foot (235 m) trestle; in addition, the vibrations from the train are so strong that the ground beneath the trestle shakes as the train passes. Because railroad officials were worried that the film would add to the death toll, Norfolk Southern issued a statement, read at the premiere, which warned of the trestle's dangers and informed the audience that anyone caught on the trestle could be prosecuted for trespassing. Several people have died on or near the train trestle at Pope Creek in pursuit of the Pope Lick Monster legend. In 1988, a 17 year old young man, Jack “J.C.” Charles Bahm II, was hit and killed by a train and another young man was injured while trying to cross the trestle. In 1994, a man was killed by a train after his ATV overturned on the trestle, trapping him on the track. In 2000, a 19-year-old fell to his death after encountering a train. On April 23, 2016, a 26-year-old tourist, Roquel Bain, from Ohio died after being hit by a train while searching for the monster. Her boyfriend survived by hanging on the side of the trestle. On... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Lick_Monster TAGS: Pope Lick Monster, Supernatural legends, Satyrs, Kentucky folklore, American legendary creatures #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #PopeLickMonster

Polybius is a fictitious 1981 arcade game that is part of an urban legend. The legend describes the game as part of a government-run crowdsourced psychology experiment based in Portland, Oregon. Gameplay supposedly produced intense psychoactive and addictive effects in the player. These few publicly staged arcade machines were said to have been visited periodically by men in black for the purpose of data-mining the machines and analyzing these effects. Allegedly, all of these Polybius arcade machines disappeared from the arcade market. This urban legend has persisted in video game journalism and through continued interest, and has inspired video games with the same name. LEGEND The urban legend says that in 1981, when new arcade games were uncommon, an unheard-of new arcade game appeared in several suburbs of Portland, Oregon. The game was popular to the point of addiction, with lines forming around the machines and often resulting in fights over who would play next. The machines were visited by men in black, who collected unknown data from the machines, allegedly testing responses to the game's psychoactive effects. Players supposedly suffered from a series of unpleasant side effects, including seizures, amnesia, insomnia, night terrors, and hallucinations. Approximately one month after its supposed release in 1981, Polybius is said to have disappeared without a trace. The company named in most accounts of the game is Sinneslöschen. The word is described by writer Brian Dunning as "not-quite-idiomatic German" (a word constructed outside the norms of German-language usage and grammar) meaning "sense delete" or "sensory deprivation". The word's meanings are derived from the German words Sinne ("senses") and löschen ("to extinguish" or "to delete"), though the way they are combined is not standard German, Sinnlöschen would be more correct. The game has the same name as the classical Greek historian Polybius, born in Arcadia and known for his assertion that historians should never report what they cannot verify through interviews with eyewitnesses. ORIGINS Due to the viral and anecdotal nature of the legend, an exact origin is unclear. Some anecdotal accounts claim that the legend originated on Usenet circa 1994, or earlier through offline word of mouth. The earliest confirmed record of the legend is an entry for the title added to arcade game resource coinop.org on February 6, 2000; although coinop.org lists the page as originating in 1998, journalist Stuart Brown states that it appears to have defaulted to that time due to a database error caused by a lack of input. The entry mentions the name Polybius and a copyright date of 1981. The author of the entry claims in the description to be in possession of a ROM image of the game, and to have extracted fragments of text from it, including "1981 Sinneslöschen". The remainder of the information about the game is listed as "unknown", and its "About the game" section describes the "bizarre rumors" that make up the legend. Some time prior to September 2003, Kurt Koller, owner of coinop.org, submitted a message to the American video game magazine GamePro about Polybius. Polybius then appeared in the September 2003 issue of GamePro, as part of a feature story on video games called "Secrets and Lies". This is the first known printed mention of the game, exposing the legend to a mass-market audience. The article declared the existence of the game to be "inconclusive", helping to both spark curiosity and spread the story. Following the appearance in GamePro magazine, several people claimed to have some involvement with Polybius. In 2006, a man named Steven Roach claimed he had been one of its original programmers and that his company developed a game with very intense and... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybius_(urban_legend) TAGS: Polybius (urban legend), Urban legends, Science and technology-related conspiracy theories, Fictional video games, Creepypasta, Arcade video games #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #Polybius(urbanlegend)

The Chase Vault is a burial vault in the cemetery of the Christ Church Parish Church in Oistins, Christ Church, Barbados, best known for a widespread urban legend of "mysterious moving coffins". According to the story, each time the heavily sealed marble vault had been opened for the burial of a family member including 1808, twice in 1812 and in 1816 and 1819, all of the lead coffins had changed position. The facts of the story are unverified, investigations concluding there may not be actual events at the base of the legend. THE STORY The first published version of the story appeared in 1833 in (General) James Edward Alexander's Transatlantic Sketches. According to Alexander, a Mrs. Goddard was buried in the vault in 1807, followed in 1808 by 2-year-old Ann Maria Chase, and in 1812 by her older sister Dorcas Chase, aged 12. When the vault was opened again in late 1812 for the burial of their father Thomas Chase, the caskets of the Chase girls were said to be found "in a confused state, having been apparently tossed from their places." Alexander wrote that when the vault was later opened "to receive the body of another infant, the four coffins, all of lead, all very heavy, were much disturbed" and that similar disturbances were found when opening the vault for burials in 1816 and 1819: Each time that the vault was opened the coffins were replaced in their proper situations, that is, three on the ground side by side, and the others laid on them. The vault was then regularly closed; the door (a massive stone which required six or seven men to move) was cemented by masons; and though the floor was of sand there were no marks of footsteps or water. The last time the vault was opened was in 1819, with the Governor of Barbados Lord Combermere present, when opened the coffins were found confusedly thrown about the vault, some with their heads down and others up. What could have occasioned this phenomenon? In no other vault in the island has this ever occurred. Was it an earthquake which occasioned it, or the effects of an inundation in the vault? Different versions of the story appeared over the years, with other accounts published in 1844 and 1860. THE ORIGINS According to author Jerome Clark, the story of the Chase Vault appears to originate from anecdotes told by Thomas H. Orderson, Rector of Christ Church during the 1800s. Orderson gave "conflicting accounts" of the tale, each containing variations. Clark says the story was subsequently repeated in Alexander's 1833 Transatlantic Sketches, and further repeated the same year in the "Anecdote Gallery" section of Reuben Percy's The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Clark says that most stories that proliferated about the Chase Vault referred back to sources that could be traced to one of Orderson's accounts, and that Scottish folklorist Andrew Lang identified the differing versions told by Orderson in a December 1907 article published in Folk-Lore Journal. After combing through existing documentation to determine the veracity of the Chase Vault stories, Lang reported that he could find nothing to substantiate them, either in the burial register of Christ Church or in contemporary newspapers on Barbados, aside from an "unpublished firsthand account" by a Nathan Lucas, who claimed to be present at the opening of the vault in April 1820. The Governor ordered the bodies be re-interred in separate burial plots, with the vault now sealed and empty. The story of the moving coffins attracted a fair bit of attention in Victorian society. Arthur Conan Doyle commented about the case, speculating that animal magnetism might be involved. Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell and folklorist Benjamin Radford both point out significant details of the story vary from one... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_Vault TAGS: Chase Vault, Paranormal places in Barbados, Christ Church Barbados, Burial monuments and structures, Buildings and structures in Barbados #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #ChaseVault

The Kennedy curse is a series of premature deaths, accidents, assassinations, and other calamities involving members of the American Kennedy family. The alleged curse has primarily struck the children and descendants of businessman Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., but it has also affected family friends, associates, and other relatives. Political assassinations and plane crashes have been the most common manifestations of the "curse". Following the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969, Ted Kennedy is quoted saying he questioned if "some awful curse did actually hang over all the Kennedys." CHRONOLOGY Events that have been cited as evidence of a curse include: KENNEDY DEATHS On August 12, 1944 – Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. died when the BQ-8 aircraft he was piloting accidentally exploded over East Suffolk, England. (A BQ-8 was a B-24 Liberator converted into a radio-controlled flying bomb. For more information, see Project Anvil.) On September 9, 1944 – William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, newlywed husband of Kathleen Kennedy was fatally shot by a German sniper while leading his company near Heppen, Belgium. On May 13, 1948 – Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy (formally known as Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington) died in a plane crash in France. On August 9, 1963 – Patrick Bouvier Kennedy died of infant respiratory distress syndrome two days after his premature birth on August 7 in Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts (the 20th anniversary of his father's rescue after the sinking of PT-109). On November 22, 1963 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was shot dead by Jack Ruby two days later. In 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin. However, in 1979, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy and that Oswald did not act alone. On June 5, 1968 – United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the night of his victory in the California Democratic presidential primary; Robert died the following morning. On April 25, 1984 – David A. Kennedy died of a drug overdose in a Palm Beach, Florida hotel room. David was twelve years old when he saw his father assassinated on live TV in the family's hotel room. Following a car accident, David began to abuse painkillers and was in and out of detox facilities throughout his youth. On the day of his death, David was in Palm Beach to see his grandmother, who had just had a stroke. On December 31, 1997 – Michael LeMoyne Kennedy died in a skiing accident after crashing into a tree in Aspen, Colorado. On July 16, 1999 – John F. Kennedy Jr. died when the plane he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The crash was attributed to pilot error and spatial disorientation. His wife and sister-in-law were also on board and died. On September 16, 2011 – Kara Kennedy died of a heart attack while exercising in a Washington, D.C. health club. Kara had reportedly suffered from lung cancer nine years earlier, but she had recovered after the removal of part of her right lung. On May 16, 2012 – Mary Richardson Kennedy died by suicide on the grounds of her home in Bedford, Westchester County, New York. On August 1, 2019 – Saoirse Roisin Kennedy Hill, granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died of an accidental drug overdose at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. On April 2, 2020 – Maeve Kennedy McKean disappeared with her eight-year-old son, Gideon, during a short canoe trip in the Chesapeake Bay. Maeve's body was found by divers four days later. Gideon's body was found two days after hers, on April 8.... LINK TO ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_curse TAGS: Kennedy curse, Assassination of John F. Kennedy, Curses, Kennedy family #GeneralKnowledge #AudibleWikiFactory #Audible #Wikipedia #Kennedycurse